Dr. N. Sirdar

Episode 37 - From Hospital Rounds to Garden Clubs: How Dr. Nadia Sirdar Built the DPC Practice Nobody Said She Could - Part 2

DPC| Primary Care| DPC Podcast
May 04, 2026•3 min read

You can be the most skilled physician in your city, but if nobody knows you exist, your practice won't grow. In Part 2, the real strategy comes out.

Dr. Nadia Sirdar walks through the exact patient acquisition tactics that got her to 50 members- including the farmer's market funnel that outperformed everything else (and the story of Mitch, a man in his 80s who may be her most effective referral source), the fireside chats that spread through garden clubs, and the speaking engagements that led her to the Maryland General Assembly advocating for menopause care legislation.

She also gets into something worth recognizing: physician visibility as an ethical obligation. In an era of rampant health misinformation, showing up as a trusted, evidence-based voice isn't optional anymore. It's part of the job.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • Visibility is a clinical responsibility. Patients are being targeted by grifters. A trusted physician voice in the room matters.

  • The farmer's market was Dr. Sirdar's top acquisition channel- not because it was clever, but because the conversations were real and deep in a way no digital ad can replicate.

  • Patients need multiple touchpoints before they sign up. Consistent presence across multiple community spaces compounds over time.

  • One core talk can fuel five different engagements. Recycling content leverages your efforts and protects your time.

  • A CRM is the difference between a patient connection that converts and one that disappears.

MEMORABLE QUOTES

"My patient said: 'My garden club sent me and I'm the first one. If this goes well, I'm telling my garden club.”

RESOURCES & REFERENCES MENTIONED

  • Sibley Hospital (Johns Hopkins Community) — Dr. Sirdar invited to keynote the Foundation's Young Professionals luncheon

  • Maryland Medical Society — Dr. Sirdar invited to co-chair the Women in Medicine committee

  • Maryland General Assembly — Doctor of the Day program; site of menopause care insurance coverage legislation

ABOUT DR. NADIA SIRDAR

Specialty: Internal Medicine (ABIM Board Certified)

Background: Former Hospitalist

Practice: Bethesda Modern Primary Care

Location: Bethesda, Maryland

Focus: Adult Primary Care | Menopause & Perimenopause

Website: bethesdadoctor.com

Instagram: @drnadiasirdar

Facebook: Dr. Nadia Sirdar

LISTEN, SHARE & CONNECT

  • Missed Part 1? Go back and hear how a hospitalist defied everyone who said she couldn't do this — and built a thriving practice anyway.

  • Rate and review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify — your review helps other physicians find this show

  • Share with any physician who thinks DPC isn't for their background

  • Tag us and @drnadiasirdar with your biggest takeaway

FROM DR. ANNE

I'm building something for DPC Life listeners and I want to make sure it's actually useful to you. There's a short form linked below - three questions, two minutes. What are you stuck on, what's helped you most, what do you want to hear more about. Everyone who fills it out gets a free brandable DPC presentation you can customize for Rotary clubs, employer groups, or any community talk. And if you want to be notified when the DPC Life community launches, there's a checkbox for that too.

Link to form: Click here

KEY TIMESTAMPS

04:00

The rule of three touchpoints: patients say "I saw you three times before I signed up"

05:30

Why education has value even when patients don't sign up directly with you

06:00

Garden clubs, Mahjong groups, and how women's community circles became a referral network

10:00

The farmer's market as the #1 funnel — the full origin story (including Mitch)

13:00

What farmer's market conversations actually look like: deep, not fluffy

17:00

Funnel ranking: Farmer's Market → Fireside Chats → Larger Speaking Events

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Dr. Gonzalez was born in NYC, but grew up in Virginia. She graduated from the University of Virginia and Eastern Virginia Medical School before completing her Family Medicine residency and Geriatrics Fellowship in 2002 at USC in Columbia, SC. She worked in Morganton, NC for 5 years at Burke Primary Care. After that, she headed the Primary Care Department at A Woman's View for 13 years and taught part time at the Geriatrics Fellowship in Morganton. She appreciates the privilege of working with her patients to improve their health, independence, and quality of life. She is Board Certified in Family Medicine and has a Certificate of Added Qualification in Geriatrics.

Anne Gonzalez

Dr. Gonzalez was born in NYC, but grew up in Virginia. She graduated from the University of Virginia and Eastern Virginia Medical School before completing her Family Medicine residency and Geriatrics Fellowship in 2002 at USC in Columbia, SC. She worked in Morganton, NC for 5 years at Burke Primary Care. After that, she headed the Primary Care Department at A Woman's View for 13 years and taught part time at the Geriatrics Fellowship in Morganton. She appreciates the privilege of working with her patients to improve their health, independence, and quality of life. She is Board Certified in Family Medicine and has a Certificate of Added Qualification in Geriatrics.

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